NHL Making a Shift On Their Draft Lottery

NEW YORK -- Forget about tanking in the NHL. Bottoming out in the standings might not get you to the top of the draft.

The weighted lottery will change a bit next year and even more in 2016, the NHL said Wednesday, in order to "more appropriately reflect the current state of competitive balance."

The 14 teams who fail to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs will be in the mix for the No. 1 draft pick.

Next year, the team that finishes with the fewest points will have a 20 percent chance -- down from 25 -- the second-fewest will have a 13.5 percent chance -- down from 18.8 -- the third-fewest will drop to 11.5 percent from 14.2, and the fourth-lowest will go to 9.5 percent from 10.7.

The following year, the lottery will include the first three picks of the draft instead of just the top choice, meaning the team with the fewest points could end up as low as the fourth selection.

Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press

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